A Sub-Blog to the main BLOG.FranklyRealty.com to discuss specific areas or buildings.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Review: Williamsburg Condos in Arlington's Courthouse

Williamsburg Condos on 1276 N Wayne St Arlington, VA 22201

I have 3 friends that live in the Williamsburg Condos in Courthouse. They love it!

The 1st thing that stands out is thehuge floorplans versus the newer buildings in the area. This building was built in 1982 1993-1994 and to a certain degree it shows in the common areas and the lack of a rooftop social area.

I didn’t know if rooftop pools are much more expensive, but it seems like a waste that the Williamsburg condos doesn’t use their rooftop at all. No pools, no party room, no nothing.Since the units were built in 1982 some will have renovations and some will be original.

A renovation can alter the price by $50,000 so make sure you compare apples to apples.

Also each floor can be about $4,000 in value.

The building does have a pool tucked in the back corner.

METRO This building is about twice as far from the metro vs Odyssey and 1021.

PARKING: I love the 5 short term 30 minute spots in the front. I wish everyone had that. I rarely see even half of them taken. Also street parking is plentiful (I think it is all metered, can somebody verify that?). Spots tend to go for only $10k-$15k (vs $40k elsewhere)

Also the parking inside the building is plentiful. I understand you can rent a spot for as little as $50/mo and buy for as little as $10,000, but now more like $20,000.

So the building is less expensive than Clarendon 1021, since it is older, but also Courthouse is about $40,000 less than Clarendon.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this condo, wanna see more photos, or if you would like to contact my friends and ask them specific questions. We have bought and sold several units in this building (see 60 photos of 3 sold units) .

7 comments:

Jack
said...

Hey Frank,

I also live in the Williamsburg and think it's great, however it was built about 1993-1994, not 1982 (I found this post through a unit for sale).

When I bought in 05, it really stood out because the larger open size floor plans. It is a fantastic building, and I've never understood why the money couldn't be spent to make the rooftop more usable (at least as an lounge area)... oh well.

Also wanted to add that I believe we are about the same distance to metro than the Odyssey condo building, if not a bit closer to the actual platform. However we are a bit further from restaurants and CVS in courthouse.

I've done both walks many times, there is a back entrance that can be accessed through a garage (so very little time walking outside), and a second back entrance that can be taken near the movie theater.

I live in the Williamsburg and absolutely love it. I've lived there for 5 years. Originally I was deciding between 1021 and my penthouse unit, I made the best decision for me. 1021 tends to be very loud and boisterous as there are many people living in this building that are right out of college. That building has poor sound insulation and cheap appliances. The Williamsburg was built to last and as a result has resulted in no noise issues from neighbors from any angle.

I agree that it would be great if we could use the roof, but the pool is ample and quiet, unlike a lot of the other more social communities in the area.

I disagree that Clarendon is $40,000 more in price, I think that it depends on the unit and specifically, the building. The Odessey certainly is much nicer than some of the buildings in Clarendon.